6 thoughts on “Violet Turaco (Musophaga violacea)”
In The Gambia VT is doing well in green spaces where well established mangos are replacing indigenous trees: congener C. piscator is now a successful peri urban bird (forages on several introduced leady trees eg Moringa) – large coastal domestic gardens etc esp. ones that provide water in ponds & pots also in mangroves & along the river; evidence of some birds adapting to chronic habitat changes and flying further distance across open spaces. Other upper limit forest birds in The Gambia (Wacher (1993) are faring much worse. Where is the evidence of bird trade export from W Africa & from exactly where to where ?: good numbers of Certatogymna hornbills & great blue turaco are proven victims of recent trade
An additional threat is hunting for the fetish markets. The situation in Benin and Togo is the following: “threatened by deforestation on some rivers of the north. Frequently found in fetish markets in Benin, with up to 145 carcasses in 2008 (3 markets) and 115 in 2016 (6 markets, GN). Source: Dowsett-Lemaire F. & Dowsett R.J. 2019. The Birds of Benin and Togo. An atlas and handbook. Tauraco Press, Sumène, France.
The species is in the EU by far the most frequently imported turaco species. In the past 5 years the majority of live bird trade into Europe from Africa is from West Africa and predominantly entering the EU illegal. All Tauraco spp. are CITES listed but due to the taxonomical changes this species seem to be dodging the CITES regulations which could do with an review. Imports are also seen into Asia (India, Indonesia and China) and South Africa. I do not have real evidense on annual numbers in the global trade but it will surely exceed thousand individuals.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 25 April 2025. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 25 April 2025, when discussions will re-open.
We thank all contributors for their insightful comments. The scale and nature of trade involving this species are concerning, and the assessment will be updated to reflect that it is also imported into the EU, Asia, and South Africa. In addition, its frequent presence in fetish markets will be noted.
It is reassuring to hear that it is doing well in The Gambia.
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2025 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 4 May 2025, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2025 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 12 May 2025.
In The Gambia VT is doing well in green spaces where well established mangos are replacing indigenous trees: congener C. piscator is now a successful peri urban bird (forages on several introduced leady trees eg Moringa) – large coastal domestic gardens etc esp. ones that provide water in ponds & pots also in mangroves & along the river; evidence of some birds adapting to chronic habitat changes and flying further distance across open spaces. Other upper limit forest birds in The Gambia (Wacher (1993) are faring much worse. Where is the evidence of bird trade export from W Africa & from exactly where to where ?: good numbers of Certatogymna hornbills & great blue turaco are proven victims of recent trade
An additional threat is hunting for the fetish markets. The situation in Benin and Togo is the following: “threatened by deforestation on some rivers of the north. Frequently found in fetish markets in Benin, with up to 145 carcasses in 2008 (3 markets) and 115 in 2016 (6 markets, GN). Source: Dowsett-Lemaire F. & Dowsett R.J. 2019. The Birds of Benin and Togo. An atlas and handbook. Tauraco Press, Sumène, France.
The species is in the EU by far the most frequently imported turaco species. In the past 5 years the majority of live bird trade into Europe from Africa is from West Africa and predominantly entering the EU illegal. All Tauraco spp. are CITES listed but due to the taxonomical changes this species seem to be dodging the CITES regulations which could do with an review. Imports are also seen into Asia (India, Indonesia and China) and South Africa. I do not have real evidense on annual numbers in the global trade but it will surely exceed thousand individuals.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments until 25 April 2025. We will now analyse and interpret the information, and we will post a preliminary decision on this species’ Red List category on this page on 25 April 2025, when discussions will re-open.
Preliminary proposal
We thank all contributors for their insightful comments. The scale and nature of trade involving this species are concerning, and the assessment will be updated to reflect that it is also imported into the EU, Asia, and South Africa. In addition, its frequent presence in fetish markets will be noted.
It is reassuring to hear that it is doing well in The Gambia.
Based on available information, our preliminary proposal for the 2025 Red List would be to adopt the proposed classification outlined in the initial forum discussion.
There is now a period for further comments until the final deadline on 4 May 2025, after which the recommended categorisations will be put forward to IUCN.
The final 2025 Red List categories will be published on the BirdLife and IUCN websites in October 2025, following further checking of information relevant to the assessments by both BirdLife and IUCN.
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion. We greatly appreciate the time and effort invested in commenting. The window for consultation is now closed and we are unable to accept any more comments. We will analyse and interpret the information, and a final decision on this species’ Red List category will be posted on this page on 12 May 2025.